Zoe Saldana Talks Race Issues in Hollywood

Actress Zoe Saldana is one busy woman these days, headlining in three simultaneous giant sci-fi franchises — Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek and Avatar. The busy star sat down with The Hollywood Reporterto talk about her upcoming roles, race in Hollywood and also revealed why she almost quit the business years ago.

Currently, the 36-year-old is headed overseas to promote Marvel’s latest big-budget Guardians of the Galaxy and will soon be returning to film her next films. What do these films all have in common? They’re all sci-fi movies, which she loves.

“You just gravitate naturally to what your heart yearns for,” she said. “And I grew up in a very science fiction-driven household. It was odd for me to grow up and go out in the world and not see other women going crazy for science fiction …”

Saldana got her major franchise break in 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Seemingly a memorable moment in her career, the actress also remembers it as the moment she almost quit the business.

“Those weren’t the right people for me,” she began before clarifying, “I’m not talking about the cast. The cast was great. I’m talking about the political stuff that went on behind closed doors. It was a lot of above-the-line versus below-the-line, extras versus actors, producers versus PAs. It was very elitist.”

It became such a problem that she almost rethought her career.

“I almost quit the business,” she revealed. “I was 23 years old, and I was like, ‘F— this!’ I am never putting myself in this situation again. People disrespecting me because they look at my number on a call sheet and they think I’m not important. F— you.”

Since that moment, Saldana has luckily moved on to make a successful career for herself, being a successful woman of color in Hollywood despite some race barriers.

“I don’t want to spend my life thinking about all the impossibilities I face when I wake up in the morning,” she said. “But the reality is, I’m a woman of color in America. That itself is enough for you to wake up and go, “Oh, f—!”